WAGS Waves Goodbye After 64 Years In South Carolina

WAGS-AM in Bishopville, S.C., which signed off the air on Feb. 28 after 64 years of service.

In 1954, a Class D daytime-only AM radio station signed on the air at 1380 Kilocycles, with 1,000 watts of power. In the days before FM radio, it was one of few stations that could be easily heard locally before sundown.

Then, FM radio drew listeners from AM, and signals from nearby markets captured what was a small South Carolina town’s lone voice on the dial.

Now, this station has died at the age of 64, with its obituary offered Feb. 28 by the owner — who has put out a call for a “white knight” to breathe new life in a station destined for eternal silence.

Adam R Jacobson is a veteran radio industry journalist and advertising industry analyst with general, multicultural and Hispanic market expertise. From 1996 to 2006 he served as an editor at Radio & Records.